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Comment by se0 | Hacker News Reader

I have a Samsung S7 from march 2016 and just received the march 2019 security update. Not bad ;)

Oneplus 3 here from Jun 2016. Official Android 9 pie is currently in beta. For a cheaper than most big name brands they got good support.

The Nokia 6 was released back in January 2017 and is still seeing major OS upgrades (most recently to Android 9 Pie).

I would expect a larger, much higher volume vendor like Samsung to do more than security patches for older phones considering that a smaller player like Nokia can keep up. It isn't a herculean task!

Pretty sure my next device will be a Nokia or iPhone due to the long term software support.

It's a lot easier for Nokia to do that because they use a version of Android that's basically stock. Samsung re-skins the UI and adds a bunch of features, so every time they upgrade to a new version of Android, they have to re-apply all those patches. (of course, whether they should do that is another question...)

That's part of the problem and why I rather not buy highly custumized versions of Android.

Given how android has been developing I'm happy to have done features from OEMs that google hasn't added yet.

>Pretty sure my next device will be a Nokia or iPhone due to the long term software support.

Wouldn't rule out Motorola (Lenovo) as well. They are the only manufacturer selling parts for their phones directly, have models in the android one line, and offer bootloader unlock (so you could move to a custom rom once they discontinue)

I loved the Moto G series and bought multiple for friends and family, but now moved to the Nokia since they hardly customise it and the upgrades have been timely.

I appreciate the parts availability but their long term software support is atrocious. The G5 plus for example got Oreo over a year after Oreo came out, and that is the only version update it will ever get.

That's why I said to buy an Android One phone from them. The X4 doesn't have this problem as it gets software updaates monthly from Google.

Motorola's software updates for their phones are quite bad, they lag when the phone is new and they stop completely way too soon.

For Android hobbyists the unlocked bootloader may be fun, but there is no low-maintainance (timely and reliable OTAs without wiping/reinstallnig, etc) OS option if you go that route.

Understand, I said Android One phones from them. I have a moto x4, it gets monthly security updates just like the Nokia. No skin aside from a few useful gestures.

I want more than monthly security updates, if the OEM won't stand by their product for at least a few Android version bumps, its not worth buying.

Also, watching my SO try and repair their Motorola was a nightmare. It ultimately got further damaged in the process, to the point that the phone no longer had a working screen :c

BTW they don't refuse to bring updates to old phones because it seems like a "herculean task" but to get people to buy new phones. Welcome to our economy.

The nice thing about Apple (though I hate the fanboyism and many other things the company does) is that they managed to do what nobody else did: keeping that 5s running until today (!)

I've never seen an Android that would get updates for more than 2 years (can anyone beat this with 3?) so just using an iPhone as long as it lasts is better for environment.

Some statistics about supported software on iPhones: https://www.statista.com/chart/5824/ios-iphone-compatibility...

Guide to Greener Electronics (Greenpeace): https://secured-static.greenpeace.org/austria/Global/austria...

> I've never seen an Android that would get updates for more than 2 years (can anyone beat this with 3?)

That depends: Are you looking for updates to the new version or security updates?

Android One program gives you two years of regular updates, plus an additional year of security updates. My Nexus 5X received two major updates (from 6.0 to 8.0), but I kept using it until the security updates stopped. That's essentially three years of support.

Ok that's a good start for the Android world... But it still won't convince me to buy another phone that is based on this OS.

My crappy old iPhone 5s is _still_ supported today - not just security patches but the OS as well. While providers like fairphone do a good job with their supply chain I'm afraid the longevity of this phone is still better for the environment.

This is Android P that was released 7 months ago?

Nope, OP is talking about basic security patches, not Android version bumps. The S7 is stuck at Android 8 Oreo, and it would be a surprise if Samsung upgraded that to 8.1 or 9 (Pie).

Samsung is one of the worst vendors when it comes to Android updates, only flagship phones will see any major updates, generally for less than 2 years.

I don't intend to dispute this claim. In fact, it's still correct. And I'm biased, I've got a Samsung phone.

Still, opinion improved a bit when my S8+ got a march 2019 update which upgraded it to Android 9.0 (phone shipped with Android 7 in May 2017) and basically the same features/skin as what's just been released on the S10 lineup. Makes me hopeful that maybe they are improving their update game going forward.

I have a note 3 that pretty much doesn't work anymore as i'm stuck on android 4.

Note 3 can’t get to Android 5? I have one too. But the battery expanded and I haven’t used it in a while. But even back then it was getting pretty bad being on Android 4.

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